Rigid lightweight metal tray



w 1948- w. G. BALLANTYNE ET AL 2,456,41

RIGID LIGHTWEIGHT METAL TRAY Filed April 25, 1946 v 2 She ets-Sheet 1 194% w. cs. BALLANTYNE ET AL 2,456,481

I. RIGID LIGHTWEIGHT METAL TRAY Filed April 25, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i L i R-Q2 1M 1mg A O i l; 0073 0- i||i :ww 'F Qg y ccaoo |a Patented Dec. 14, 1948 7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RIGID LIGHTWEIGHT METAL TRAY William GammellBallantyne and Julien Adams I I Thompson, Portland, Oreg.

Application April 25, 1946, Serial No. 664,939

. Our invention relates to trays and more particularly to trays of good heat-conducting, material suitable for use in the freezing or dehydrating of fruits or vegetables.

An object of our invention is to provide an metal trays suitable for the aforementioned purposes which are of relatively light weight and at the same time desirably rigid, strong and durable.

Another object of our'invention is to provide desirably rigid, strong and durable trays, of relatively light weight and otherwise suitable for the aforementioned purposes, each of which may have all of its essential elements formed from a single piece of sheet metal.

Another object of our invention'is to provide desirably light weight, rigid, strong and durable trays which readily may be assembled in stable stacks requiring no elements other than the trays themselves to insure their stability.

Another object of our invention is to provide trays of the kind mentioned in the last preceding paragraph which, when assembled into a stack, define spaced-apart substantially continuous vertical walls between which air must flow in passing between contiguous trays of the stack to dehydrate or lower the temperature of the fruits or vegetables supported by the trays.

Salient features of the trays of our invention are hollow metallic side rails affording convenient handles wherewith the trays may be manipulated and through which warm air may be passed to disengage frozen-together trays, which comprise longitudinally extending upwardly presented stacking ridges and downwardly extending stacking grooves complementary to the ridges, and supporting shoulders and seating shoulders, adjacent to the ridges and grooves respectively, cooperating when occasion requires to prevent objectionable distortion of the ridges or groove walls under heavy loads.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of our invention will appear from the following detailed description wherein reference is made to the accompanying two sheets of drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a small stack of the trays of our invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view, on a larger scale than Fig. clearly depicting how contiguous rails of stacked trays are adapted to cooperate;

Fig. 3 is a view, partly in end elevation and partly in vertical section, of one of the trays;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view which may be regarded 2 Claims. (01; 34238) as taken in the plane of the line 3-4 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 5 is a. fragmentary plan view which may be regarded as taken in the plane of the line 55 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction indicated by thearrows.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Each of the trays of our invention consists of a floor or platform ill, a pair of hollow side rails ll-ll and a pair of rail-spacing flanges I2-i2, all preferably formed in one piece from a single sheet of a good heat-conducting metal such as aluminum.

The floor or platform 10 is flat and rectangular, and desirably has been rendered foraminous by providing it with ranks and files of small through-apertures l3-|3.

The hollow rails H-|I are disposed at opposite edges of floor or platform it]. Each of such rails H--l I desirably consists of a comparatively wide, imperforate edge portion ofthe floor or platform I0 which extends substantially upward- .ly from such floor or platform to provide an inner wall I l, thence further upwardly and outwardly and thence downwardly and outwardly to provide a stacking ridge I5, thence horizontally outwardly to provide a supporting shoulder I6, thence downwardly to provide an outer wall I! substantially spaced from and parallel with the inner Wall I4, thence horizontally inwardly to provide a seating shoulder l8, thence upwardly and inwardly and thence downwardly and inwardly to provide a stacking groove I9, and thence inwardly to provide a lip 20 contiguously underlying the adjacent marginal portion of the floor or platform 10. The lips 2|] desirably are attached, as by rivets 2 I, to the overlying margins of the floor or platform l0.

Each of the rail-spacing flanges l2i 2 consists of a comparatively narrow imperforate edge portion of the floor or platform II! which extends upwardly from such floor or platform and is stilfened by having its upper edge return-bent as indicated at 22. Each end of each flange l2 desirably abuts and is welded, as indicated at 23, to the inner wall [4 of an adjacent side rail ll.

Trays constructed as just described have many advantages. Although they may be and preferably are very light in weight, they are nonetheless very rigid, strong and durable. The side rails l l| I serve as handles wherewith the trays conveniently may be manipulated. The trays readily may be assembled in stable stacks requiring of the side rails of the next higher tray to prevent distortion of the stacking ridges ll5 or the walls of the stacking grooves 19-49 under=heavy 1 loads. Being formed entirely of metal, thetrays aiTord good transfer of heat from or to their sup-- ported fruits or vegetables in any freezing or dehydrating operation.

In any stack of our improved trays the side rails l |-l l of the several trays cooperate to present continuous vertical walls between which .air must flow, or may he forced tofiow, in passing over the fruits or vegetables supported in ,the spaces between the several tray floors or platforms. Whenever in.a freezing operation contiguous side rails of any two trays of .a stack become frozen together, the difiiculty readilymay be remedied by introducing warm air or other warm fluid into the interiors of the frozen-together rails.

Having thus illustratedanddescribed our invention, what we claim' as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States is:

LA trayof the class described formed of a horizontally inwardly to provide a seating shoulder, thence upwardly and inwardly and thence downwardly and inwardly to provide a stacking groove, and thence substantially horizontally inwardly c-ontiguously to underlie a marginal portion of the floor, and a second pair of flanges coextensive with and upturned from the other two edges of the floor and havingltheir ends welded to contiguous ends 10f! the inner wall portions of the flanges of the first pair.

A tray of the class described comprising a single piece of sheet metal shaped and conformed to provide-a rectangular horizontal foraminous iloor afirstpair of-fi-anges coextensive with and upturnedyfrom opposite edges of said floor, each flange of said first pair extending substantially singlepieceof sheet metal shaped and conformed to provide a rectangular horizontal foraniinous floor, a first pair of flanges coextensive'with'and upturned from opposite edges of said floor, each flange of said first pair extending substantially upwardly from said floor to provide aninner-wa-ll, thence further upwardly and outwardly and thence downwardly and outwardly to provide a stacking ridge, thence substantially horizontally outwardly to providea supporting shoulder; thence substantially downwardly to provide an outer wall spacedfrom the inner wall, thence substantially upwardly from said floor to provide an inner wall, thence: further upwardly and outwardly and thence downwardly and outwardly to provide a stackingridge, thence substantially horizontally outwardly to provide f a supporting shoulder, thenw substantially downwardly to provide an outer wall spaced from the inner wall,'-thence substantially horizontally inwardly to provide a seating shoulder, thence upwardly'and inwardly and-thence downwardly and inwardly to provide a stacking groove, and thence substantially horizontally inwardly contiguously to underlie a marginal portion of the floor.

' WILLIAM *GAMMELL BALLANTYNE.

' JULIEN-ADAMS' -THOMPSON REFERENCES '.CITED The iollowing references are of record inthe file of this patent:

I UNITED STATES PATENTS Moorman Feb. 13, r 1934 

